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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — to shout
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ball — a great time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — to visit
  10. root — the cause
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. root — of a plant
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pop — soda
  18. root — of a word
  19. pop — music
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com